He said: “There’s none, really. I don’t think Scotland are going to score three or four goals in a game.

“It will be one or maybe two if they can. They are a workmanlike team. There is not one player you could say is outstanding.

“With Gordon Strachan in there now, he will just be trying to get them to work as a team.

“But Wales have got Gareth Bale, Craig Bellamy and also Aaron Ramsey. They can take the game to Scotland as individual talents.

“Scotland are more of a hard-working, battling side who have to grind out results.

“It’s sad in a way when you look at the players Scotland have had in the past.

“There was Dalglish, Souness and Hansen at Liverpool in my time, and there were great Scottish players at other big English clubs too.

“That’s gone, I don’t know why. Maybe the academies in Scotland are just not producing the players, while there are more foreign players in the game now.”

The former Liverpool goal machine is convinced Strachan will be working overtime on set-pieces as the best route for success against what he believes is a superior Welsh side.

He said: “Wales have more skilful players than Scotland.

“We just have to make sure we match Scotland’s enthusiasm.

“Gordon Strachan will have them fired up and if Wales don’t match that we won’t win.

“There is no doubt we are a better side. Wales have great individuals right now and the form Bale is showing means he’s capable of beating any country as well as any club.

“He’s on a fantastic run and hopefully he can take his Spurs form into the Scotland game.

“It may be set-plays Scotland will be working at to get their goals. Chris Coleman will be looking at that.

“The first thing he will be doing is making sure Wales keep a clean sheet because he knows we have players at the other end capable of scoring. Looking at the Welsh team now, it’s one that tries to play football.

“Ashley Williams likes to play it out from the back with Swansea and Chris wants his team to do that too.”

There will be a hostile Hampden welcome for former Celtic man Craig Bellamy and Rush insists the Cardiff striker will revel in being the target of abuse for the Tartan Army. He said: “He will love it. It was the same for Graeme Souness. The more stick he got, the more he loved it. It helps to bring the best out of players like them.

“Bellamy is like Souness that way, nothing bothers him. He likes to do his talking on the pitch.”

Iconic World Cup qualifiers between Scotland and Wales have remained fresh in the memory for many fans and Rush recalled the infamous penalty-kick decision in 1977 involving Joe Jordan with a sense of injustice.

He said: “I was in the Kop as a kid that night. There were more Scots fans than Welsh there.

“The game should never have been played at Anfield. With Kenny Dalglish being a Liverpool player, that didn’t help either. It was the Welsh FA’s decision to move the game. That was typical.

“The referee made a decision and that was it. I remember Alan Rough making an incredible save from John Toshack. Things like that change a game, it’s not just the penalty incident. Kenny also scored another great goal to kill the game off.”

Rush has also experienced the feeling of scoring a Welsh winner at Hampden 28 years ago in another failed World Cup qualification campaign.

He said: “I remember that – it was good because to win at Hampden was special.

“Myself and Mark Hughes were up front and I scored a left-footer from outside the box which was unusual. It was a great result and took us into the game at Cardiff later that year against Scotland which we drew when we had to win.

“Souness was playing that night at Hampden – it was a tough game and a hard-fought win.

“Mike England was the manager and it was a big thing to go to Scotland and win.”

The Welsh have endured a succession of near misses when it comes to qualifying for World Cups and Rush admits this campaign could bring more of the same.

He said: “When the draw was made there was a potential to qualify but obviously Wales didn’t have a great start. We have to beat Scotland and then Croatia to have any chance of making a comeback. A draw is no use for either team.

“Even if we win, it will very difficult to qualify.

“We play Croatia on Tuesday and have to get six points to have any hope of making it.

“Scotland will be favourites for this game because it’s at Hampden but Chris and his team have the quality to go there and win.”